Today's Race Will Tell The Story

September 01, 1995|By AL PEARCE Daily Press

Qualifying this afternoon in Darlington, S.C., will set the full 42-car grid for Saturday's Grand National Gatorade 200 and the top 20 starters for Sunday's Mountain Dew Winston Cup Southern 500. Additional qualifying Saturday will fill the field for Sunday's 500-miler.

Saturday's Grand National race will be carried live at 1 on Motor Racing Network and tape-delayed at 4 on ESPN. Sunday's 45th renewal of NASCAR's oldest superspeedway race will be live on MRN and ESPN at 1.

Randy LaJoie won last year's Gatorade 200 pole and Mark Martin won the race. Geoff Bodine won the 500 pole last year and Bill Elliott won the race.

Sterling Marlin, Mark Martin and Bobby Labonte will be after a $100,000 bonus. Each has a ``Winston Million'' victory this year (Marlin in Daytona Beach, Martin at Talladega, and Labonte near Charlotte), making them eligible for an extra $100,000 by winning the last ``Winston Million'' race.

BUSCH INVASION. Five drivers who consider themselves primarily Winston Cup drivers and a pair of crossover drivers are entered in Saturday's Grand National 200 at Darlington.

THE DODGE BOYS. NHRA Pro Stock stars Darrell Alderman and Scott Geoffrion are expected back for this weekend's U.S. Nationals at Indianapolis Raceway Park in Clermont, Ind.

The Dodge Avenger stars have been idle since May, when their Fairfield, Ill., shop was allegedly entered and vandalized. The team's supply of race engines was destroyed, forcing it to miss the next eight races and fall out of championship contention.

Alderman and Geoffrion were 1-2 in points after the Memphis race in May. Alderman has dropped to ninth and Geoffrion to 12th in the lastest standings.

It was confirmed Thursday that Jeff Burton will be part of a three-team Jack Roush stable next year, perhaps with Exide backing. ... Dennis Setzer will replace Elton Sawyer in the Grand National team of Brad Akins and Bob Sutton next year while Sawyer pursues a Winston Cup career. ... Look for Chad Little to make a full-season Winston Cup effort next year with his own team.

QUOTE, UNQUOTE. This from Bill Elliott on how drivers deal with on-track incidents: ``You've just got to deal with it. We get mad every week; it's just like family. I'm sure you get mad at family members at some point in time. You get over it and go on down the road. That's what we do.''

QUICK LAPS. Last weekend's rained-out Enduro at Langley Speedway has been rescheduled for Sunday night at 7. Men will run 125 laps and women 50. ... Several families in the Dallas-Fort Worth area have sued to stop construction of Bruton Smith's proposed 1.5-mile Texas Motor Speedway. ... Ex-Winston Cup wannabe Steve Kinser recently won $100,000 in a Sprint Car race in Ohio, then another $100,000 the next weekend in Iowa.